Childhood pictures of Alex Iwobi and Chuba Akpom signing their first contracts at Arsenal in 2003. Stuart MacFarlane @Stuart_PhotoAFC Chi...
Childhood pictures of Alex Iwobi and Chuba Akpom signing their first contracts at Arsenal in 2003.
Stuart MacFarlane @Stuart_PhotoAFC
Chief Photographer at Arsenal Football Club.
Chuba Akpom
Chuba Amechi Akpom (born 9 October 1995) is an English
professional footballer who plays as a striker for Arsenal. He has
represented England at youth international levels.
Club career[b]
[b]Arsenal
Akpom joined Arsenal at the age of six.[6][7] He made his debut for the Arsenal U18 side at the age of 15, and signed his first professional contract with Arsenal on 10 October 2012, a day after turning 17.[7][8] In December 2012 Akpom received his first call into the Arsenal senior squad, when he was an unused substitute for a 2–1 Champions League defeat to Olympiakos.[9] He made 20 U21 Premier League appearances during the 2012/13 season and scored 13 goals, including 10 goals in 10 games in the Elite Group stage. In the lead-up to the 2013/14 season, Akpom was selected for Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia and scored once in a 7–0 win against an Indonesia Dream Team, two more in a 7–1 win against Vietnam[10][11][12] and another in Arsenal's final game of the tour against Urawa Red Diamonds.[13] Akpom made his competitive debut in a 3–1 Premier League win over Sunderland on 14 September 2013. He came on in the third minute of injury time as a substitute for the injured Olivier Giroud.[14] Akpom was an unused substitute for the following game against Marseille in the Champions League. Akpom's second Arsenal appearance came in a League Cup third round tie away to West Bromwich Albion on 25 September. He replaced goalscorer Thomas Eisfeld after 82 minutes and with the scores at 1–1 at full-time, the game entered extra time. Akpom played the full scoreless extra time period and scored Arsenal's third penalty in the ensuing shootout, helping Arsenal to a win. Akpom was an unused substitute for a 2–0 Premier League win over Liverpool on 2 November. He scored three goals in four UEFA Youth League appearances towards the end of 2013. Akpom scored a hattrick in a 6–1 FA Youth Cup fourth round demolition of Peterborough United on 6 January 2014.[15]
Brentford (loan)
On 30 December 2013, it was reported that League One sides Brentford, Peterborough United, Leyton Orient and Milton Keynes Dons were in a four-way battle to sign Akpom on loan.[16] Brentford emerged as the favourites to land Akpom, due to club's head of recruitment, Shaun O'Connor, having originally signed Akpom while working for Arsenal.[16] The loan was thrown into doubt due to injuries suffered by Arsenal strikers Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner in early January 2014,[17] but was completed on 9 January, with Akpom signing for a month.[18] Manager Mark Warburton said "Chuba is strong and quick, with a very good first touch. He's greedy and enjoys scoring goals. It's his first loan spell and League One is tough, so he might take some time to adapt. It's a big jump from Under 21 football".[18]
He missed the first match of his loan through illness[19] and Warburton stressed that Akpom would have to "work hard and earn his place like everyone else".[20] Akpom made his debut in a 1–1 league draw at Walsall on 19 January.[21] He came on for Will Grigg after 68 minutes and provided a cross for Clayton Donaldson in the dying moments, which went unconverted.[22] After making four substitute appearances, his loan spell ended and he returned to Arsenal.[23] Following the return to Arsenal, Akpom appeared on Arsenal Magazine about his time at Brentford for the March issue.[24]
Coventry City (loan)
On 14 February 2014, Akpom joined League One side Coventry City on loan until the end of the 2013–14 season, with an agreement that he would rejoin the Arsenal squad for games in the FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League during the course of the loan.[25]
Return to Arsenal
Akpom began the 2014–15 season by scoring a hat trick for Arsenal in an Under-21 Premier League Division 2 game against West Bromwich Albion at the end of August.[26] On 23 September 2014, he made his first senior appearance of the season, replacing Héctor BellerÃn for the last four minutes as Arsenal lost 1–2 at home against Southampton in the League Cup.[27] He made his first Premier League appearance of the season against Southampton on New Year's Day 2015.[28] Akpom made a telling contribution to Arsenal's 5–0 home win against Aston Villa, coming on as a second-half substitute and winning a penalty, converted by Santi Cazorla, his first assist for the club. On 4 February 2015, Akpom spurned the interest of a number of other clubs from the Premier League and across Europe to sign a new 4 1/2 year contract with Arsenal.[29][30]
Nottingham Forest (loan)
On 26 March 2015, he joined Championship club Nottingham Forest on loan till 31 May 2015.[31]
Hull City (loan)
On 4 August 2015, Akpom joined Championship side Hull City on a season-long loan.[32] Akpom made his debut for the Yorkshire based club on the opening weekend of the 2015–16 season scoring the second goal in a 2–0 home win to Huddersfield Town on 8 August.[33] Akpom made his second appearance from the bench replacing Nikica Jelavic in the 60th minute in the League Cup first round against Accrington Stanley. He scored in the 92nd minute in the first half of extra time and netted a penalty in a 4–3 shootout win for the Tigers.[34] On 30 January 2016 Akpom scored his first senior hat-trick in the FA Cup match away to Bury that Hull won 3–1.[35] Akpom was part of the 2016 Championship play-off final Hull team up against Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley, thus earning, with the Tigers being victorious upon that day, a winner's'medal as well.[36] Akpom was later returned to Arsenal where he is currently a member of the side's first team outfit.[37]
International career
On 15 February 2011 Akpom made his debut for England U16s in a friendly match against Slovenia, which ended in a 0–0 draw.[38] He second and final game for the U16s came in a 3–0 2010/11 Victory Shield win over Northern Ireland on 23 March 2011.[39] On 2 August 2011 Akpom made his U17 debut, scoring once in 4–0 win over the Faroe Islands.[40] He played in all six games and scored two goals during England's unsuccessful 2012 European U17 Championship qualifying campaign. He made 13 appearances in total for the U17s and scored five goals.[39] On 6 September 2012 Akpom made his England U19 debut in a 3–1 defeat to Germany.[41] He scored his first goal for the U19s on 26 September 2012, in a 3–0 2013 European U19 Championship qualifying win over Estonia.[42] Two days later, he scored two goals in a 6–0 win over the Faroe Islands. He played in five of England's six 2013 European U19 Championship qualifying and elite stage games and scored three goals, as England failed to qualify for the finals.
On 11 October 2014, Akpom scored his first goals for England U20 coming on as a 87th-minute substitute to score a brace against Netherlands U20 in a 3–2 victory.[43] On 13 October 2015, Akpom made his England U21 debut playing 90 minutes and scoring with the last kick of the match in a European qualifying win over Kazakhstan.[44] He scored again for the England U21 team in a UEFA Euro Under-21 Qualifier against Switzerland. England U21 won the match 3–1, with Akpom scoring in the injury time of the second half.[45]
Akpom, who is of Nigerian descent, is still eligible to represent Nigeria. In May 2016, it was reported that he was one of three players formally approached by the Nigeria Football Federation.[46]
Akpom has recently been selected for the England under 21's' for the Three Lion's UEFA European Championship qualifier against Norway on Tuesday 6 September 2016.
Alex Iwobi
Alex Iwobi (born 3 May 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who
plays as a winger and a striker for Premier League club Arsenal. He also
represents Nigeria national side.
Early and personal life

Iwobi was born in Lagos before moving to England at the age of four.[3][4] He is the nephew of ex-professional footballer Jay-Jay Okocha.[4]
Club career

Iwobi joined Arsenal while still at primary school,[5] and was first involved in a first-team match as an unused substitute in a League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion on 25 September 2013.[6] He signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal in October 2015.[5]
2015–16 season

On 27 October 2015, Iwobi made his first-team debut for the club, starting in a 3–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the Round of 16 of the League Cup.[7][8] He made his Premier League debut four days later in a 3–0 win against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, as a stoppage time substitute for Mesut Özil.[9] Iwobi made his Champions League debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 5–1 defeat against Bayern Munich. Iwobi started in the first team for the 2015–16 FA Cup 3rd and 4th round home wins against Sunderland and Burnley respectively.
After getting a first Champions League start in a 3–1 away defeat to Barcelona,[13] Iwobi went on to score two goals in his first two Premier League starts in wins against Everton,[14] and Watford, respectively.
International career

After playing youth football for England,[16] Iwobi elected to play for Nigeria and made his senior debut on 8 October 2015, replacing Ahmed Musa in the 57th minute of a 2–0 friendly defeat to DR Congo in Visé, Belgium.
He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Stuart MacFarlane @Stuart_PhotoAFC
Chief Photographer at Arsenal Football Club.
Club career[b]
[b]Arsenal
Akpom joined Arsenal at the age of six.[6][7] He made his debut for the Arsenal U18 side at the age of 15, and signed his first professional contract with Arsenal on 10 October 2012, a day after turning 17.[7][8] In December 2012 Akpom received his first call into the Arsenal senior squad, when he was an unused substitute for a 2–1 Champions League defeat to Olympiakos.[9] He made 20 U21 Premier League appearances during the 2012/13 season and scored 13 goals, including 10 goals in 10 games in the Elite Group stage. In the lead-up to the 2013/14 season, Akpom was selected for Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia and scored once in a 7–0 win against an Indonesia Dream Team, two more in a 7–1 win against Vietnam[10][11][12] and another in Arsenal's final game of the tour against Urawa Red Diamonds.[13] Akpom made his competitive debut in a 3–1 Premier League win over Sunderland on 14 September 2013. He came on in the third minute of injury time as a substitute for the injured Olivier Giroud.[14] Akpom was an unused substitute for the following game against Marseille in the Champions League. Akpom's second Arsenal appearance came in a League Cup third round tie away to West Bromwich Albion on 25 September. He replaced goalscorer Thomas Eisfeld after 82 minutes and with the scores at 1–1 at full-time, the game entered extra time. Akpom played the full scoreless extra time period and scored Arsenal's third penalty in the ensuing shootout, helping Arsenal to a win. Akpom was an unused substitute for a 2–0 Premier League win over Liverpool on 2 November. He scored three goals in four UEFA Youth League appearances towards the end of 2013. Akpom scored a hattrick in a 6–1 FA Youth Cup fourth round demolition of Peterborough United on 6 January 2014.[15]
Brentford (loan)
On 30 December 2013, it was reported that League One sides Brentford, Peterborough United, Leyton Orient and Milton Keynes Dons were in a four-way battle to sign Akpom on loan.[16] Brentford emerged as the favourites to land Akpom, due to club's head of recruitment, Shaun O'Connor, having originally signed Akpom while working for Arsenal.[16] The loan was thrown into doubt due to injuries suffered by Arsenal strikers Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner in early January 2014,[17] but was completed on 9 January, with Akpom signing for a month.[18] Manager Mark Warburton said "Chuba is strong and quick, with a very good first touch. He's greedy and enjoys scoring goals. It's his first loan spell and League One is tough, so he might take some time to adapt. It's a big jump from Under 21 football".[18]
He missed the first match of his loan through illness[19] and Warburton stressed that Akpom would have to "work hard and earn his place like everyone else".[20] Akpom made his debut in a 1–1 league draw at Walsall on 19 January.[21] He came on for Will Grigg after 68 minutes and provided a cross for Clayton Donaldson in the dying moments, which went unconverted.[22] After making four substitute appearances, his loan spell ended and he returned to Arsenal.[23] Following the return to Arsenal, Akpom appeared on Arsenal Magazine about his time at Brentford for the March issue.[24]
Coventry City (loan)
On 14 February 2014, Akpom joined League One side Coventry City on loan until the end of the 2013–14 season, with an agreement that he would rejoin the Arsenal squad for games in the FA Youth Cup and UEFA Youth League during the course of the loan.[25]
Return to Arsenal
Akpom began the 2014–15 season by scoring a hat trick for Arsenal in an Under-21 Premier League Division 2 game against West Bromwich Albion at the end of August.[26] On 23 September 2014, he made his first senior appearance of the season, replacing Héctor BellerÃn for the last four minutes as Arsenal lost 1–2 at home against Southampton in the League Cup.[27] He made his first Premier League appearance of the season against Southampton on New Year's Day 2015.[28] Akpom made a telling contribution to Arsenal's 5–0 home win against Aston Villa, coming on as a second-half substitute and winning a penalty, converted by Santi Cazorla, his first assist for the club. On 4 February 2015, Akpom spurned the interest of a number of other clubs from the Premier League and across Europe to sign a new 4 1/2 year contract with Arsenal.[29][30]
Nottingham Forest (loan)
On 26 March 2015, he joined Championship club Nottingham Forest on loan till 31 May 2015.[31]
Hull City (loan)
On 4 August 2015, Akpom joined Championship side Hull City on a season-long loan.[32] Akpom made his debut for the Yorkshire based club on the opening weekend of the 2015–16 season scoring the second goal in a 2–0 home win to Huddersfield Town on 8 August.[33] Akpom made his second appearance from the bench replacing Nikica Jelavic in the 60th minute in the League Cup first round against Accrington Stanley. He scored in the 92nd minute in the first half of extra time and netted a penalty in a 4–3 shootout win for the Tigers.[34] On 30 January 2016 Akpom scored his first senior hat-trick in the FA Cup match away to Bury that Hull won 3–1.[35] Akpom was part of the 2016 Championship play-off final Hull team up against Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley, thus earning, with the Tigers being victorious upon that day, a winner's'medal as well.[36] Akpom was later returned to Arsenal where he is currently a member of the side's first team outfit.[37]
International career
On 15 February 2011 Akpom made his debut for England U16s in a friendly match against Slovenia, which ended in a 0–0 draw.[38] He second and final game for the U16s came in a 3–0 2010/11 Victory Shield win over Northern Ireland on 23 March 2011.[39] On 2 August 2011 Akpom made his U17 debut, scoring once in 4–0 win over the Faroe Islands.[40] He played in all six games and scored two goals during England's unsuccessful 2012 European U17 Championship qualifying campaign. He made 13 appearances in total for the U17s and scored five goals.[39] On 6 September 2012 Akpom made his England U19 debut in a 3–1 defeat to Germany.[41] He scored his first goal for the U19s on 26 September 2012, in a 3–0 2013 European U19 Championship qualifying win over Estonia.[42] Two days later, he scored two goals in a 6–0 win over the Faroe Islands. He played in five of England's six 2013 European U19 Championship qualifying and elite stage games and scored three goals, as England failed to qualify for the finals.
On 11 October 2014, Akpom scored his first goals for England U20 coming on as a 87th-minute substitute to score a brace against Netherlands U20 in a 3–2 victory.[43] On 13 October 2015, Akpom made his England U21 debut playing 90 minutes and scoring with the last kick of the match in a European qualifying win over Kazakhstan.[44] He scored again for the England U21 team in a UEFA Euro Under-21 Qualifier against Switzerland. England U21 won the match 3–1, with Akpom scoring in the injury time of the second half.[45]
Akpom, who is of Nigerian descent, is still eligible to represent Nigeria. In May 2016, it was reported that he was one of three players formally approached by the Nigeria Football Federation.[46]
Akpom has recently been selected for the England under 21's' for the Three Lion's UEFA European Championship qualifier against Norway on Tuesday 6 September 2016.
Early and personal life

Iwobi was born in Lagos before moving to England at the age of four.[3][4] He is the nephew of ex-professional footballer Jay-Jay Okocha.[4]
Club career

Iwobi joined Arsenal while still at primary school,[5] and was first involved in a first-team match as an unused substitute in a League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion on 25 September 2013.[6] He signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal in October 2015.[5]
2015–16 season

On 27 October 2015, Iwobi made his first-team debut for the club, starting in a 3–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the Round of 16 of the League Cup.[7][8] He made his Premier League debut four days later in a 3–0 win against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, as a stoppage time substitute for Mesut Özil.[9] Iwobi made his Champions League debut as an 85th-minute substitute in a 5–1 defeat against Bayern Munich. Iwobi started in the first team for the 2015–16 FA Cup 3rd and 4th round home wins against Sunderland and Burnley respectively.
After getting a first Champions League start in a 3–1 away defeat to Barcelona,[13] Iwobi went on to score two goals in his first two Premier League starts in wins against Everton,[14] and Watford, respectively.
International career

After playing youth football for England,[16] Iwobi elected to play for Nigeria and made his senior debut on 8 October 2015, replacing Ahmed Musa in the 57th minute of a 2–0 friendly defeat to DR Congo in Visé, Belgium.
He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
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